At Abbey Road, we are extremely privileged to have some of the best outboard mastering equipment in the world. However, whether mastering with outboard or in-the-box, you’ll still want a great compressor, limiter and EQ. Abbey Road mastering engineer Christian Wright advises on a few of the software mastering plugins he would recommend, and we take a look at Abbey Road’s range of mastering plugins in partnership with Waves Audio.

Christian Wright's Go-To For Mastering Plugins

All the outboard gear I use is available as plug-ins: the RS56 EQ, Massive Passive and Elysia Compressor.

Someone asked me “I’m new to the mastering process, should I invest in a bit of outboard gear?” The answer isn’t always yes; one piece of outboard gear could fund an entirely new computer, a new set of plug-ins, or perhaps the PR for your artist project. You can spend all the money in the world taking your music to a good sonic quality, but then there’s going to be other support and expense required for sharing your music with the world.

The possibilities when working inside the box now is amazing. Most professional mix sessions are working inside a DAW, but often in tandem with wonderful outboard. Carefully consider what you think you need in your production space, and go out and try it. If you're considering purchasing outboard or plugins maybe speak to other people who have used it before, or read publications that have reviewed and spoken about it and create an informed decision.

Abbey Road Studios X Waves Audio Mastering Plugins

Now the unique sounds of Abbey Road’s celebrated equipment can be recreated using a diverse range of audio products. Our partnership with Waves Audio has allowed us to recreate our legendary gear into plugin replicas. Take a look below at three of our Waves Audio plugins that we feel are best for using within the mastering process.